


The Riddle

by Katecong



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 08:28:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24966721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katecong/pseuds/Katecong
Summary: Two idiots struggling. Dumbledore laughed hard, presented with Snape's potion puzzle. 'Oh, a poet in our midst'
Relationships: Harry Potter/Severus Snape
Comments: 12
Kudos: 58





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
Harry glares at the lonely baguette in the trolley as he moves along the tea aisle. This 'excursion to a Muggle food outlet' stopped seeming like a good idea after five minutes into the depths of Tesco: Severus outright refuses to buy any food he doesn't recognise, he fights Harry on every item (and wins, of course); looks like it's going to be a long time before they get their shopping done.  
'Next time we're sending Kreacher to Diagon as per usual,' he grumbles. 'All these colourful boxes are making me dizzy.' He gets no answer.  
He steers the trolley round the corner and can't help but breathe out in relief.  
'Finally, the vegetables!'  
He grins at Severus... and finds nobody there.  
'Oh no. Where's he got to?'  
Harry spins the trolley around and all but runs scanning the area frantically. Luckily, there aren't any people to bump into.  
By the time his eyes pinpoint the familiar figure in black, he is panting and anxious beyond measure.  
Severus is standing with his back to Harry next to a periodicals rack, a bright magazine in his hands. He looks deeply absorbed in what he is reading. Harry's mood immediately goes from worried to angry; to calm down he takes two deep breaths and his grip on the trolley handle relaxes. 'This is what you wanted,' he tells himself, 'for him to display interest in at least something, for him to move on, for him to have fun.' He adjusts his glasses and slowly starts walking forward. He doesn't make a sound, trust Severus to pick a good trolley.  
Meanwhile, Severus closes the magazine but doesn't put it back. His right hand goes for his coat pocket where his wand is but pauses midway. Apparently, Severus thinks better of it. Harry hides behind a stack of plastic bottles of poisonous-looking drinks, peering between the containers, and just in time too: Severus takes a look around, then quickly grabs one more magazine from the rack, folds both of them in half and smoothly slips them into his pocket.  
Harry feels more amused than incredulous and thinks it's time to make his presence known.  
He faces Severus with his warmest smile.  
'Hey. Lost you here for a bit.'  
Severus is tense and suspicious but also tries for nonchalance.  
'One can get lost for days in this entertaining place. Have you seen the snake cake deal?'  
'It's a caterpillar, Severus. Do you want to buy that?'  
'Merlin, no.'  
'Are you done here?'  
'Quite.'  
'Good, 'cause I've found the veg. Over there, let's go.'

As Severus inspects the tomatoes, Harry surreptitiously cranes his neck to peek inside THE POCKET. Spotting the tiniest corner of the magazine he smiles to himself. Not the hidden pocket then, just the front one. There's only a couple of people around, but Harry still decides against confronting his lover. He'll wait.  
After a hissing squabble over prawns versus salmon, which ended in a prolonged kiss, they are finally at the checkout. With the salmon, of course.  
The cashier, an old lady, is ringing an equally old lady's purchases. Harry and Severus are next. The latter looks notably distracted.  
Harry puts their meagre lot on the conveyor belt and steps closer to Severus.  
'Let me tell you something.'  
It happens quickly. Harry's lips nearly touch Severus' ear. He says, 'We're paying for these,' and fishes the magazines out. As he drops them next to the salmon, he doesn't turn to see Severus' face. He looks at the magazines instead. They're kids' mags with what looks like comics and puzzles. His heart clenches.  
As soon as they're through, Severus snatches his glossies and strides ahead, leaving Harry with the trolley.  
'Severus, wait!'  
Surprisingly, he stops. Harry approaches. Severus' face is a bit blotchy and his eyes are hard.  
'Let's just go home, ok?'  
After a pause Severus nods slowly.  
The way home is spent in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Their dinner is also a silent affair.  
After the war they were both sort of adrift, but unlike Severus Harry bounced back quite quickly. He had and has his friends, his Auror training, his pet projects. Severus claims to be Harry's favourite pet project and Harry can't disagree. He is long past disagreeing (for real, not for the show) with anything Snape says. Having fulfilled his main goal in life, Severus seemed to have lost any spark whatsoever. He did have the concept of preference, but couldn't name any when asked. He had nothing, absolutely nothing to tie this concept to. They took baby steps to get Severus to make choices. The first time he sneered at Wizard Chess in favour of Wizard Scrabble, Harry fireworked inside. The first time Harry got the answer 'I would prefer to finish the book first' to his 'Can I kiss you now?' instead of the usual 'Whatever' he felt they're ready for more than kissing. Severus said no not because it served any pre-arranged purpose but just because he felt like it. He was healing.  
That doesn't mean Harry doesn't get frustrated when Severus is being difficult. That doesn't mean Harry doesn't want to force Severus to talk about the supermarket incident. He is dying of curiosity. But he is waiting. The perfectly cooked salmon is enough distraction.  
'Second helping?'  
'No, thank you.'  
'Can I hug you?'  
'Whatever.'  
Here they are, back to square one. Harry's shoulders droop. After a minute Severus stands up and leaves for the lab.  
Harry settles with his books in the living-room and tries to study. The magazines are nowhere to be found.  
At about ten Severus resurfaces smelling of smoke and calming draught. He sits next to Harry but doesn't look at him. Harry closes the book and waits.  
'My parents never bought the paper,' Severus begins pensively. 'Father probably read it at the pub he frequented, mother wasn't at all interested. I once asked them if we could subscribe but was rebuffed. Father said it was a waste of money. Lily's parents, on the other hand, subscribed to at least three newspapers. In one of them there was this Sunday family supplement. With articles, stories, jokes... And puzzles, all kinds of riddles, rebuses, maths problems... It was our Sunday tradition: after lunch Lily would take the paper and a pencil and join me in the park or, on rainy days, at the bus stop. First we checked the answers to the previous week's puzzles and only then started on the new ones. And she never opened the paper without me. I got ill once and missed a Sunday and she waited a week. Next Sunday was a double feast.'  
Severus rarely speaks about Harry's mum and always on his own terms, so Harry listens with rapt attention.  
'When I saw these today,' Severus pats the pocket of his brewing robe, 'I couldn't resist. And I didn't want you to know. You might have thought it... silly.'  
'I'd never... I understand.'  
Harry remembers searching the rubbish bin for his cousin's discarded mags and smiles sadly.  
'Wait. What about aunt Petunia? Didn't she also want to do the puzzles?'  
'Oh, I'm getting there,' Severus reclines on the sofa and visibly relaxes. 'I don't think she cared much for the puzzles themselves, but she did hate being left out. Lily invited her to join us once though, but was dismissed with 'I want no part in this childish nonsense'. The last Sunday before we left for Hogwarts...'  
Severus falls silent. Harry is patient. He can do patient or die trying.  
'Lily and I had a bit of an argument over one riddle. She said, the answer was 'the truth' and my version was 'a secret'. She asked everyone she knew, even the postman, even Petunia, for their opinions. Nobody could come up with anything more plausible than we already had. We knew that by the time the next Sunday supplement was out, we'd both be far away, so Lily secured it with her parents that they keep all the papers for us until next summer. So they did. Or at least tried to.'  
Having waited for ten seconds, Harry loses it.  
'Let me guess. Aunt Petunia stole the papers?'  
Severus finally looks at Harry. His gaze is unreadable, but still Harry feels appreciation there. Or it could be wishful thinking.  
'Every last one of them,' Severus' lips are pinched and his voice bitter. His nose seems to become longer still. 'And not just stole, but burned them, or so she claimed. We had been waiting for nearly a year. When Lily turned up at the park, she was in tears. 'It's a test of what your freakish magic can do,' those were Petunia's words. 'Can you bring the burned pages back? You can't, can you? Your magic can't undo everything!'  
Harry is speechless. He understands that it was just a left-out child's cruelty, but his heart screams for Severus and his mum.  
'So you never knew the answer then?'  
'No.'  
'Do you... Do you remember the riddle?'  
'I do. How could I forget?'  
'Tell me.'  
'Alright,' Severus scrunches his forehead for a moment and starts reciting. 'Here:  
I can stay hidden for quite long  
But always get revealed.  
Be it golden, copper, ice or stone,  
To some I hold appeal.  
They're prying when I'm not their own,  
Ill-mannered and unwise,  
Yet most don't welcome me at all  
When I show in their eyes.'  
Harry scratches the back of his head. He is no good at riddles, but he wants to impress Severus.  
'Could it be... love?'  
Severus considers the answer.  
'Why do you think so?'  
'Well, true love can't stay hidden, people are envious of it and not many can withstand it when it hits them in the face.'  
Harry is proud of his argument, but Severus is quick to counter.  
'Then what about the materials line? I concur that love can be golden, but what about copper or ice?'  
'Well, I could say the same about 'the truth' or 'a secret'.'  
'Touche.'  
They stay silent for some time, stewing. Harry has an idea, but it has to wait until tomorrow.  
'Severus, let's sleep on it.'  
Severus nods.  
'Can I kiss you?'  
'...Yes. And everything. Make it good for me.'  
'Oh I will.'  
They retire to bed in companiable silence. The mags stay in Severus' discarded robes for the time being.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The phone box is too small for them both but Harry doesn't mind. Severus is all business, reading the instructions and feeding coins to 'the apparatus' and scolding Harry. But he is warm and he still smells of their morning tea-coffee.  
Harry dials the number.  
'Hi Big D. It's Harry. Can I talk to aunt Petunia please?'  
To his right, Severus tenses, his anger palpable.  
'Harry?'  
'Aunt Petunia, hello.'  
'What is it you want, Harry?'  
Her voice is as shrill as he remembers. Severus leans closer.  
'I can stay hidden for quite long, but always get revealed... Do you remember?'  
A pause follows.  
'How do... you know about it?' Petunia splutters.  
Harry wants to say 'Magic!' but refrains. Instead he replies,  
'Let's say I came across a piece of my mum's memory. I want to know the answer to the riddle.'  
'And why do you think I know it?'  
'I just do.'  
'Alright. Alright. Age. 'Age' is the answer. I still keep that blasted paper!'  
To his right, Severus bangs the back of his head against the wall of the booth, laughing maniacally. He is a sight to behold.

In the back garden of Grimmauld Place Severus hangs in the air, arms and legs spread star-like. Harry spins circles around him on a broom. Kreacher wrings his hands on the porch, begging his masters to come and have dinner.  
'I am too old for you,' Severus breathes out. 'My age is showing.'  
'But still you hold appeal,' Harry counters. 'What do you say, old man, puzzles, dinner or bed first?'  
'Ill-mannered and unwise, that's my Harry. Dinner, I'd say. Let's make Kreacher happy.'


End file.
